Railway hopper car



March 12, 1963 E. M. DAMY 3,080,829

RAILWAY HOPPER GAR Filed sept. e, 195s 2 sheets-sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

1C 1 5.4. ifm/,PM /1//1 mm;

MQW/L United States Patent 3,080,829 RAILWAY HOPPER CARy EduardovM. Damy, Antigua Camino alos Colonies No. 500,` Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico Enessepf. s, 195s, ser. No. 759,794 3V Claims. (Cl. 10S-248) Theinvention relates to an improvement in doors or outlets employed, -for example, in connection with 4railroad cars. One "purpose is to provide adoor that can be easily adapted to a regular hopper car when employed, for example,- to dump and spread ballast.

Another purpose is toprovide an arrangement of outlets or-chutes and controls therefor Whichwill `permit a precise iand controlleddelivery of ballast in the desired relation-'to oneeorjboth rails of a track:

Another purpose slto provide improved means for raising. and lowering` chute doors for hopper'ca-rs and the like;

Anotherv purpose is to provide means forV preventing thedelivery -of ballast to y,the top or head of a rail,` while permitting deliveryofballastat eachfside of a rail.

` Another purposeis to providein a multi-hopper car control meansforfselectivcly` opening one or more hoppers.

Another` purposeis -toprovidet means for selectively deli-vering.'ballasty along either or both rails of a track. Other purposes will appear from time to time inthe course of the speciication and claims.

The` invention is.A illustrated moreV or less diagram-v matically inlthe accompanying drawingswherein:

FIGURE `l is `a partial perspective view of a hopper car;-

FIGURE 2 is a partialv vertical, transverse section through ,thedischarge hoppers shown in FIGURE jl, with the Jgatesremoved;

FIGURE `31is..aipartial.top,.plan View, on an enlarged scale in relationto-FIGURE 24,' ofthe` controlstructure partially shown at the top of FIGUREYZ;

FIGUREk 4z1i-s 4a section takenalong line4T4 ofFIG-` URE 3, unan-enlarged scale; and,

EIGURE-,Sisia fragmental `detail viewalong section line 5"-55ofy FIGURE 3.

Like partstareindicated by likesymbols throughout ,the

specification and drawings.`

Rffrring` to the.; drawings, Ak generally indicates any` suitable,` Car body,` Such,` as; angepat-topped; gondola, thek extendingbottomwall, notshown in detail in the drawings` i 60 asindicated at 3` inv FIGURE l. A .convergfent front wall.

butextending,alongtheedges ofthe side` walls Land 2,

4.,complletes the,hopper, which is, provided with Aa. discharge, outlet for opening 5, as shown in VFIGURE 2., but. which is masked orclosedby the gates or closures indicatedin FIGUREL While a wide varietyof 4closures may be employed, a prac-tical closure consists of `a gategstructure, generally indicatedat 6` in F'I'GUREI; Each such gate 6 has end4 portions or Walls7rto ,which may be securedlevers 8, pivoted, as Vat v9; to the gondola Aorto` the upper part of the hopper'Bf It willv be understood that each hopper has a'gate -fmounted at each end upon Va lever 8, the levers the hook of the second gate.

3,080,829 Patented Mar. 12,i 1963 thrust of the material, supplementing the'weight of thek gate structure, tends to-moVe-the'gateinto th'e closedposition of FIGURE l.

Itis importantto provide means for selectively `raising the gates.6 of the various hoppers B, either to openfvthemcompletely forV full discharge or to leave them atsomeintenmediate position for partial discharge. It is -also Vimportant that the gates be selectively controllable so thatone or more `ofthe gates and, if desired, all ofthe gates, can -be simultaneously moved to -adesiredposition.- The desired eXibility ofv controlincludes the ability to close some gates while others are open,l and to vary the setting offindividual lgates from the fully closed to the fully open position. Whereas the invention is applicable toawide variety oftuses, it1is herein shown primarily in connection. with the delivery of ballast from a yballast distributing car, to areas along the rails of 'a railroad track.

In `considering ithe controlmechanism, andiwith reference primarily to FIGURES 2 to 6, inclusive, two rotat-V able control rods orshafts ltlare indicated, each operable, by a hand wheclat each end of eachofthe. rods 10, al-

though, for simplicity. in disclosure, onlyone endfof the.- rods- 10.1is shown in FIGURE 3. Anchored on v.each rod;

arey two chains 12 which, when the wheelsll` of FIGURE l"` are rotated, arev reeled in about the appropriaterod 10.. Agsuitable hookorthe like .6bf may be; connected to the.v gate 6 -adjacennthe lower` end.` TheY hookis .of sucha` size thatthe chain maybe looped .or passed therethrough; as shown in FIGURE l or it maylswingfree.

Theopposite end of eachchain'may; be secured to an:

upper securing bracket 6a.. whichl ,may be mounted 'adja-f cent the top of the gateA 6.-

the Amaterial :in `the hoppers.

position to the Ifully open position. When hel stopSIotating the appropriate wheel 11,-in clockwise direction, re-ferf ringto the position ofthe parts as shown in- FIGURE 4,"

alocking means including a dog 1'5 `in engagement with the--V ratchet wheel lr6` on the shaft 10 `p-reventsany retrograde rotation., Thus-the operatorcanfset the gatesattany .desired elevation and ycan leave them in thatsetting.

, Where the operator, asin thepair ofgates controlled byonefofthe shafts 110,'wishes to open one while leaving; the other closed, he has onlyV toremove the chain from` thehook-db ofthe'k gate -which he does vnot wish'to opent.4` Whenr he` leaves the chain inthe vhook- 6b of-.a gate, that gate will beelevated, since the chain 12,will be-putunder,`

tension.A The operator can control ,the amount ofvopeningV` by` simply rceasing rotation of the .appropriate wheel 11 when4 .the controlled4 gate has reached its desired open.' position, If` theY oppositegate controlled4 bythe sa1ne l shaft 10 is disconnected, then it will stay closed.' Or

alternatively, if the chain for the;opposite. gate-is not passed through the hook. 6a, then the chain will remain. slack during the opening offthe Afirst. gate. .'It is,- of. course, PQSsible to `so control -or varythe length of chains-employedvto provide, if desired,- that when onetgate is fully, elevatedv the other gate is `still closed, ifthe,chain isv passing through thehookof .the first kgateandk not through.

Or, when the first` gate is'4 elevated to a predetermined degree, the second gate may be elevated to a substantially less degree. `It is thus clear that the operator may so employ the above described control system as to elevate simultaneously all of the gates to -a predetermined equal degree. On the other hand, it is possible for the operator to elevate a single gate while leaving the other gates closed. Or the operator may elevate the gates above one rail while leaving closed the gates aligned above the opposite rail. Or the operator may elevate some gates to a maximum opening, while moving other gates to a partly open position.

Whatever arrangement of gate opening the operator may desire, the elevated gate or gates may be promptly returned to the closed position merely by releasing the dogs 15 from the ratchet wheels 16 of one or both of the rods 10. This can easily be done, for example, by the use of appropriate control or release rods 20, of which, as in FIGURE 3, two are shown, one for each of the rods 10. The control rods are shown as rotatable about axes spaced laterally from but parallel with the axes of the rods 10. The details of the control structure may be widely varied but the convenient arrangement is to provide each of the control rods 20 with an easily accessible actuating lever 21.

With reference to the position of the parts as shown in FIGURE 4, if the lever 21 is moved into a counterclockwise direction it rotates the appropriate control rod 20 and raises a small actuating lever 22 which raises the right end of the dog 15 and thus elevates the tooth of the dog from contact with the opposed ratchet 16. This permits the associated rod to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, referring to the position of the parts as shown in FIGURE 4. This retrograde rotation releases the chains, and their support is withdrawn from the gate or gates 6 which drop under the influence of gravity or under the inuence of the thrust of material in the hopper B, or both. It will be understood, of course, that any suitable means may be employed for spring-biasing the dogs 15, if desired. The lever 21 may pass through a suitable bracket 23 mounted on the frame of the car to determine the limits of movement of the lever. As shown in FIGURE 3, the control rods 20 are positioned to be rotated in opposite directions, one clockwise and the other counterclockwise, to release the pawls from the ratchets, In FIGURE 1, the lever 21 on the right side must be moved counterclockwise to release the right gate, and the lever on the left side must be moved clockwise to release the left gate. Thus, to release a door, the lever is moved toward the door to be closed.

To prevent the undesirable positioning of ballast on rail tops, a deilector is provided for each hopper, in the line of iiow of the ballast. Each such deector F may, for example, include an angular body portion formed by two upwardly convergent surfaces 25. End members 26, 27 are provided, of which one, end member 27, is, in FIGURE 1, indicated as secured to the hopper structure or to a suitable cross-bar or member 2S, shown in FIG- URE 1 as extending across both hoppers. Since the deilectors F are spaced slightly above the rails, and are aligned along the rails, their effect is to split the stream of material delivered from the appropriate hopper, so that some of the ballast will ilow outside of the rail and some inside of the rail over which the particular detlector structure F is aligned. None of the ballast will be delivered to or rest upon the top or head of the rail, but the ballast will be closely delivered either just within or just without the rail.

It will be realized that whereas a practical structure has been shown, nevertheless many changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. 'Ihe description and drawings are therefore to be taken as in a broad sense illustrative or diagrammatic rather than as limiting the invention to the particular disclosure herein made. For example, it will be realized that whereas the invention has been described and shown in connection with a ballast car or gondola usable for delivering ballast to track surfaces, the invention may be applied for other purposes. The deectors 25 may be otherwise than for preventing deposit of ballast to rail heads. The hopper closures may be employed at any desired location on the vehicle. A wide variety or number of hoppers may be employed. Whereas four hoppers inclined toward each other, two being aligned over each rail, provide a practical structure, two hoppers or even but a single hopper may be employed, depending upon the desired use.

Whereas the invention has been described in connection with railroad cars, it will be understood that it may be applied also to trucks, for example, dump trucks. Such dump trucks may be provided with hopper discharges and when so provided are useful, for example, lfor patchwork on roads.

The use and operation of the invention are as follows:

Assuming the application of the invention to the distribution of ballast over railroad tracks, the structure herein illustrated provides a suitable number of hoppers aligned over each rail of a railway track. A practical arrangement, as earlier described, is to provide two hoppers over each rail. Assuming that the purpose is to deliver ballast along the rails, each hopper is provided with an angular guard or deflector structure F which deects the ballast, part to the outside of the rail and part to the nter-rail space, while preventing deposition of ballast on the rail head. Each pair of hoppers, one over each rail, is herein shown as controlled by a single elevating shaft. Each such shaft may be manually controlled by the use of one of the wheels '11 keyed or secured to the shaft. In larger installation servo motors or the like may be employed, but are not normally necessary. The result of the rotation of the shaft in the proper direction is to wrap around the shaft the hopper door elevating chains. Assume that both chains are secured to the lower brackets 6b of the associated hopper gates 6, then continuing rotation of the wheel 111 will elevate both gates. As above mentioned, the control system can be so adjusted that either gate may be elevated, or both gates may. The same is, of course, true of each of the pairs of gates provided. The operator has a complete and flexible control of the whole system. He merely has to rotate the wheels 11 in a proper direction to raise as many of the gates as he wishes to raise. And the levers 21 of the control rods 20 enable him promptly to return the open gate or gates to the closed position.

It will, of course, be understood that the mechanism for raising and lowering the doors may be widely varied. If desired, the ratchet and pawl assemblies above described may be replaced by structures including brake drums and counterweights. In such event a counterweight can be employed to exert enough friction on the shaft l10 to leave the doors raised to any desired height by turning the wheel counterclockwise. It will therefore be understood that the claims, except so far as their language so restricts them, are not restricted to the precise structure herein shown.

I claim:

1. In a ballast distributing car for railroad track use, in combination with a car body, a chute adjacent each side of the car body and in communication with the interior of said car body, each chute including side walls, a front wall, and a downwardly inclined bottom wall, said walls defining a discharge opening along the lower end of the bottom wall, each chute being aligned transversely of said car body and having a closure for removably closing the discharge opeining, actuating means for raising and independently variably positioning each closure to vary the extent of each opening above the rail including a manually rotatable control shaft, extending transversely of the car body and a flexible connection between said shaft and each closure, rotation of said shaft being effective, through said flexible connections, to raise said closures, means for locking the actuating means for holding the closures in a raised position, and means for releasing said locking means including a rotatable release shaft parallel to and generally adjacent said control shaft, means for rotating said release shaft and an actuating lever on said release shaft for releasing said locking means.

2. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said locking means includes a ratchet connected to said control shaft and a pawl positioned to cooperate with said ratchet to lock said control shaft, said release shaft being positioned such that said actuating lever moves said pawl out of engagement with the ratchet.

`3. The structure of claim 1 further characterized by a delector intermediate the ends of each discharge opening and vertically aligned transversely of said discharge opening, each deector being positioned to divide the ow of material through said discharge opening into a plurality of laterally divergent streams.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Souder 'Iune ll, 1901 Otis May 22, 1906 Otis Dec. L1, 1906A Proctor et al Apr. 9, 1907 Van Derwerken luly 2, 1907 Knowles et al Jan. 25, 19110 Hansen INov. 14, 1911 Wright Aug. 4, 19f14 Andrus Dec. 5, 1916 Hindahl July 1, 1919 Scott June 6, 19-22 Medcalf et al Apr. 19, 1927 Mundell Sept. 17 I1957 

1. IN A BALLAST DISTRIBUTING CAR FOR RAILROAD TRACK USE, IN COMBINATION WITH A CAR BODY, A CHUTE ADJACENT EACH SIDE OF THE CAR BODY AND IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE INTERIOR OF SAID CAR BODY, EACH CHUTE INCLUDING SIDE WALLS, A FRONT WALL, AND A DOWNWARDLY INCLINED BOTTOM WALL, SAID WALLS DEFINING A DISCHARGE OPENING ALONG THE LOWER END OF THE BOTTOM WALL, EACH CHUTE BEING ALIGNED TRANSVERSELY OF SAID CAR BODY AND HAVING A CLOSURE FOR REMOVABLY CLOSING THE DISCHARGE OPENING, ACTUATING MEANS FOR RAISING AND INDEPENDENTLY VARIABLY POSITIONING EACH CLOSURE TO VARY THE EXTENT OF EACH OPENING ABOVE THE RAIL INCLUDING A MANUALLY ROTATABLE CONTROL SHAFT, EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE CAR BODY AND A FLEXIBLE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID SHAFT AND EACH CLOSURE, ROTATION OF SAID SHAFT BEING EFFECTIVE, THROUGH SAID FLEXIBLE CONNECTIONS, TO RAISE SAID CLOSURES, MEANS FOR LOCKING THE ACTUATING MEANS FOR HOLDING THE CLOSURES IN A RAISED POSITION, AND MEANS FOR RELEASING SAID LOCKING MEANS INCLUDING A ROTATABLE RELEASE SHAFT PARALLEL TO AND GENERALLY ADJACENT SAID CONTROL SHAFT, 